


What's the I Stand For?

by BlueTeamSucks



Series: What's the A Stand For? [3]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: AI AU, AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-18
Updated: 2014-08-18
Packaged: 2018-02-13 17:51:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2159694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueTeamSucks/pseuds/BlueTeamSucks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something was wrong with Caboose. Tucker could be sure of that much. Caboose hadn't apologized profusely for Tucker's broken hand, like Tucker had expected him to. Now, he barely talked to anyone other than his AI, Maine. Tucker only knew that they conversed because he could hear them through the walls at night. It was unsettling to hear Maine's deep growls while you were trying to sleep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What's the I Stand For?

Something was wrong with Caboose. Tucker could be sure of that much. Caboose hadn't apologized profusely for Tucker's broken hand, like Tucker had expected him to. Now, he barely talked to anyone other than his AI, Maine. Tucker only knew that they conversed because he could hear them through the walls at night. It was unsettling to hear Maine's deep growls while you were trying to sleep.

Tucker sighed as he watched the other Freelancers practice. He felt like a kid watching from the bleachers as the football team worked out. His broken hand prevented him from doing much other than wistfully stare. Luckily, he was scheduled to have the sling removed tomorrow. Tucker and Wash were both itching to get it off.

Doc jogged over to Tucker's spot on the floor and sat looked down at him. "You feeling alright, Tucker?" He looked sympathetic, almost condescending.

Tucker forced himself to smile. "I'm fine. Thanks, Doc."

Doc shrugged. "Okay, I just don't like seeing you sitting here all alone. You look like you feel left out."

"No, I'm good Doc. Just watching you guys practice. I didn't really want to stay in my room all day again," Tucker insisted and shook his head.

"Alright, then! I'm gonna go see what Donut's up to!" Doc cheerfully waved as he jogged over to the targets where Donut was practicing knife throwing. Sarge was watching donut as well, snickering at the poor form. 

Tucker had to admit, Wash had helped him with throwing knives. Before his AI, he had never really taken an interest in them. The soldier that managed to stab Tucker had inspired him to work on his knife skills. Now, Tucker could be compared to Sarge in that area.

Doc started chatting to Donut as he threw knives at the targets. Even though he wasn't the best at aiming, Tucker still wouldn't want to get on Donut's bad side. He had a really good arm.

Caboose was in the center of the training room, practicing with holographic targets. Ever since he had purposefully broken Tucker's hand, nobody wanted to fight with Caboose. The once happy Freelancer was slowly becoming more and more quiet.

Tucker was sure that he wasn't the only one worried about Caboose. He could see Church eyeing the large AI on Caboose's shoulder with suspicion. A sniper rifle was tightly gripped in his hands, like he was considering aiming it at Maine. Though, knowing Church, he would probably accidentally hit Caboose in the face instead.

 _"So, you're concerned about Agent Caboose, too?"_ Wash appeared on Tucker's knee, hugging one leg close to his chest and allowed one leg to rest against Tucker's leg. He was out of armor and copying the body of Tucker's ex-boyfriend, which Tucker wasn't opposed to. His gray light looked even darker against Tucker's gray sweatpants.

 _"Yeah. I'm surprised you didn't notice that earlier."_ Tucker hadn't been actively concealing his thoughts from Wash.

Wash shrugged. _"I've been more worried about Maine, actually. We're good friends, he's a pretty cool guy once you get him to talk. He's been acting strangely lately."_

Tucker glanced over at the AI on Caboose's shoulder. He was cracking his knuckles and getting ready for a new round. Even though he couldn't see Maine's face, Tucker could imagine the ruthless glare that was underneath the gold, fishbowl helmet. _"Yeah, he looks really friendly. I could just hug him."_

That earned him an exasperated look from Wash. _"Shut up, dumbass. He's been really quiet lately and he keeps clawing at his throat, like he was hurt or something."_

_"Maine? Quiet? Stop the fucking presses, Maine is being quiet."_

Wash let out a half-growl, half-sigh. _"More than usual. He's as out of character as Caboose is."_

Just as Tucker was about to respond, Grif loudly cleared his throat to get their attention. Tucker looked over at him in annoyance. Simmons stood next to him and was in the act of rolling his eyes. Both of them were sweating from their practice sparring session.

Tucker raised his eyebrows, trying to convey his irritation to Grif and Simmons. "What the fuck do you two assholes want?"

 _"That was really subtle, Tucker,"_ Wash scoffed.

_"Shut up."_

Grif scowled at him. "South and York said that you two were gossiping. You and your boyfriend having fun together while you don't have to do any work?"

A thousand snarky response flitted through Wash's mind, which Tucker nearly snickered at. Instead, he just scoffed at Grif. "Why, you nervous that we're bad mouthing you and _your_ boyfriend?"

Simmons flushed the color of Donut's armor. Grif ground his teeth together and glared at Tucker. Wash stood up from his spot on Tucker's knee and nodded toward the tan AI on Simmons's shoulder and the purple AI on Grif's. "Hey, York. Hey, South."

York cocked his head to the side in curiosity. "Hey, buddy. How did you manage to have an out of armor appearance? 'Cause I totally want to do that too." South nodded in agreement. Simmons and Grif shot betrayed looks at their AI.

While Wash instructed them how to take their helmet off, Simmons started talking. "Look, Tucker. We were just wondering if you've noticed anything... Off... About Caboose lately? We're kind of worried about him."

Grif stubbornly shook his head. "No, _you're_ worried about him. I've listened to all of your complaints and walked over here with you because it's an excuse to get out of practice for a few extra minutes."

Tucker motioned toward his sling with his good hand. "Yeah, I thought it was really fucking weird when he _broke my fucking hand_."

Simmons glanced down at Tucker's hand and nodded knowingly. "That's what I'm talking about! He didn't even say sorry or anything, like he usually would've."

Tucker was surprised that Simmons had noticed it too. A quick look at Wash had Tucker frowning. "We were just talking about that. Wash says that Maine is acting weird too. I think that there's something wrong with them."

Grif and Simmons exchanged worried glances. Grif actually looked concerned about Caboose now. "York and South are saying the same thing," Grif said slowly.

"Yeah, York is also saying that Carolina is getting more and more competitive. He's also pretty worried about Texas," Simmons added on.

Tucker raised an eyebrow. "Carolina and Donut? I can see that for sure. But Church and Texas? They seem fine to me."

Just as the words left Tucker's mouth, a frantic scream can from across the training room. Everyone whipped around to find the source of the noise. Church had fallen to his knees and yanked his helmet off. He was clutching at his head with tears streaming down his face. Texas was next to him, screeching a name over and over again.

Allison.

_Allison._

Then, Tucker's world exploded in pain. Wash started screaming the name Allison inside his head. Or maybe he was saying that out loud, too. Tucker couldn't tell anymore. He was vaguely aware of the fact the he was on the ground and that the shrieks of the other Freelancers filled the room.

Someone rushed into the room and froze. Tucker could faintly hear The Director's voice. "What's going on? Agent Donut? Washington Epsilon, report! Counselor, what is happening?"

The Counselor sounded hopeless and worried. "I... Don't know, sir. I think that all we can do is wait."

It took about two more minutes for the AI to calm down. Tucker didn't know for sure, he had lost track of time. Eventually, he was able to struggle to his feet. Tucker's throat and head ached and he was thirsty. Washington was silent.

Donut and Sarge had both passed out. Grif had thrown up twice. Sister was leaning on Doc for support, both of them choking back sobs. Caboose was laying on the ground, looking up at the ceiling blankly. Church looked like he was still in pain. There were no AI to be seen anywhere.

The Director stalked over to a dazed Church. "Texas Omega, command: situation evaluation."

Church flinched when Texas flickered on. Her usually bright light was dim, like she was low on power. "There's a memory glitch in the AI's systems that causes excruciating pain to the AI's hosts. Trigger words are Allison and goodbye."

At those two words, there was a sharp sting of pain behind Tucker's eyes and suddenly the floor was rushing up to meet him.

A young woman with blonde hair smiled at him. She was dressed in a uniform and there was a duffel bag nearby. He was gripping her hand, not wanting to let go for fear of losing her. She gave him a sad look. "Don't say goodbye. I hate goodbyes."

Tucker jerked awake with a cry. For some reason he felt responsible for the woman's death. He never should've said goodbye to her. He loved her.

Shaking his head, Tucker frowned to himself. No he didn't. He was feeling someone else's emotions, like a third voice in his head. He could barely handle two as it was. Tucker hoped that the artificial feelings would go away soon. He felt like a fake and a liar.

He was in the hospital again. On the cot to his right was Sarge. The cot to his left held Donut. Both of them were still unconscious. Tucker vaguely remembered them fainting and The Director yelling at Church. Then, everything went fuzzy and became even more difficult to recall.

 _"Man, that was weird,"_ Tucker tried to joke.

There was a long pause where Tucker's heart stopped. Then, he felt a slight tickle as Wash spoke. _"Yeah. I don't feel well."_

Tucker smiled in relief at the sound of Wash's voice, but he was still worried about his AI. _"What do you mean? How can I help?"_

Wash appeared in front of Tucker and gave him a helpless shrug. _"I'll be fine. Probably just shaken up from whatever happened in the training room."_

 _"Yeah, what the fuck was that?"_ Tucker frowned at Wash, struggling to remember why he had passed out.

 _"Here, let me help."_ Wash concentrated on something for a few moments, then Tucker was suddenly reminded of the screaming of the Freelancers and AI. He shuddered, slightly wishing that he hadn't remembered that.

Wash and Tucker were both silent for a long time, both of them wondering what had caused them so much pain. Neither of them could come up with a reasonable answer. Tucker planned on asking The Director or The Counselor when he got the chance.

Sarge snorted and sat up in a panic. He looked around frantically, his AI, CT, trying to calm him down. Tucker glanced over at him and gave him a half-smile. "How're you feeling, Sarge?"

Sarge looked up at Tucker and Wash like he was surprised to see them there. He relaxed slightly and shrugged. "'M alright. Little bit weirded out. CT told me that she accidentally knocked me out because she couldn't stand the pain."

CT shifted on Sarge's shoulder and she looked down at her feet. Tucker nodded and scrunched his nose up. "Same thing happened to Wash. I'm assuming Carolina, too." He gestured to Donut's cot, where he was still unconscious.

With narrowed eyes, Sarge gave Tucker a look of suspicion. "Where's everybody else?"

"Dunno. I think we're the only ones that passed out, but I vaguely remember Grif throwing up. Maybe he's in here somewhere." Tucker shrugged, not really worried about the other Freelancers at the moment. They were all adults, they could take care of themselves for ten minutes.

Sarge frowned and mumbled something to CT. CT nodded in agreement, then made a motion with her hands. They appeared to be having a mental conversation, like Tucker and Wash often did.

Tucker tilted his head to the side in curiosity. Wash gave Tucker a confused look. _"What do you think they're talking about?"_

 _"Let's find out."_ Tucker turned back to Sarge. "What'd you just say? I couldn't hear you, Wash was talking to me."

Sarge looked up, seeming startled. There was a pause as he glanced around them, making sure that they were alone. Tucker leaned forward, feigning interest and secrecy. Sarge lowered his voice to a whisper. "CT and I think that there's a traitor on the Mother."

Tucker sat back and blinked in shock. Sarge mistook Tucker's surprised expression for teasing and he gave Tucker a glare. Tucker quickly shook in head in disbelief. "Wash and I were saying the same thing the other day. We told The Director and everything."

Tucker watched Sarge's expression go from grumpy to excited. "Really? That's why we were talking to The Director too. We had heard about your mission and thought that there was no way they could've known that you would be there."

"We did too. Do you know who it is?" Tucker had to admit, he was pretty happy that he wasn't going crazy. Although, having Sarge agree with you wasn't really a reassuring thing. He always had crackpot theories about everything.

Sarge shook his head sadly. "No. We're narrowing it down. That's why we asked where everyone else was. It makes no sense to knock yourself out, so the traitor can't be here. That rules out Donut and you. Plus, you think there's a traitor too, so it can't be you for sure. That leaves The Director, The Counselor, Church, Caboose, Doc, Grif, Simmons, Sister, and their AI. Church is our main suspect."

"Why's that?"

"He was the one who started the pain, remember? He screamed first, so it came from him. What do you think?" Sarge grinned, obviously glad to be talking about his theories and not being ignored.

Tucker thought about it for a second. "Wash and I think that it's Caboose."

Sarge raised his eyebrows. "Because he broke your arm?"

"Yeah. He's also been really quiet and moody lately. Grif and Simmons were telling me about it right before we passed out." Tucker nodded.

Sarge looked thoughtful as he said, "Interesting."

A medic came over and checked their vitals. She also took Tucker's sling off, because it was time for it to be removed anyways. Tucker was glad to be rid of the sling. It had gotten pretty annoying. Luckily for everyone involved, Sarge and Tucker got to leave early. Donut still hadn't woken up.

The moment Tucker stepped out the hospital door, he was approached by The Counselor. "Agent Tucker, you have a short notice mission in ten minutes. I suggest that you put your armor on and get to the debriefing. Doc and The Director are waiting for you."

Tucker curtly nodded, but was extremely curious. He rushed back to his room to put his armor on. He hadn't had a mission for close to two months now and he was itching to do something that wasn't watching someone else practice.

As he suited up, Wash wondered why they were suddenly called to a mission. _"Maybe they figured out what caused us to faint and they're trying to fix it?"_

 _"Then why would they send me and Doc?"_ Tucker shrugged on his chest plate, then made sure everything was in place and clasped on. When he was positive that nothing would fall off later that day, he put his helmet on.

Wash didn't try to argue with Tucker's response, but he did continue trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for the mission. He thought about it as Tucker jogged through the hallways, but shut up when they reached the debriefing room.

The Director was leaning over the table, his eyes on Doc, who was chattering about something Donut had once said. His helmet was off, so they could see his huge grin as he talked about Donut. The moment Tucker walked in, The Director cleared his throat and straightened up, obviously tired of hearing about Doc's crush on Donut.

Tucker walked over to the table and looked down at the projection. It was the flight path that 479er was going to take down to a planet. The planet seemed familiar, but Tucker figured that his curiosity would be cleared up soon. The Director looked like he was itching to get Doc of off the Mother of Invention.

"Good afternoon, you two. Agent Tucker, how are you feeling?" The Director asked politely, nodding in Tucker's direction.

Tucker nodded back. "Better now, thanks."

Doc turned to Tucker, not letting the conversation drop. "Was Donut in the med bay with you? Is he alright?"

Blinking in surprise at Doc's interruption, Tucker shrugged hesitantly. "He was there, but he's okay, I think. He's still unconscious, so I don't know for sure."

Doc seemed satisfied enough with that answer, because he turned back to The Director, waiting for their debriefing to start. Tucker gave Doc a confused glance, but looked over at The Director as well.

Once he was sure that he had their attention, The Director gestured to the projection of the planet. "This is a mission to retrieve the package that was left behind when Tucker, Simmons, Donut, and Church were attacked. We don't expect anymore trouble, but to be on the safe side, we're sending both of you. The package is in a unmarked, black box and should be at the coordinates I'll give you. 479er will drop you off, you get the package, you come back. Any questions?"

Tucker and Doc both shook their heads. It was a simple enough mission, better than they had both imagined. The Director gestured to 479er, who stood in the doorway. He turned away to his computer as Doc and Tucker walked out of the room. He looked pained, but concealed it well.

479er went into the cockpit of her drop ship. Doc and Tucker sat in the back, both carefully strapped themselves in. Tucker leaned back in his seat and let out a sigh of relief. The mission was not what he had been expecting, but it would be easy.

 _"That's what you said last time,"_ Wash reminded him. Tucker didn't answer, but got the feeling that Wash was probably right.

Doc started talking, distracting Tucker from Wash. "I wonder when Donut will wake up. He's always been a deep sleeper. Like, when we were in high school he used to pass out on my shoulder while we were sitting on the bleachers during gym. I would hide with him until the bell rang. He claimed that he needed his beauty rest, which is true. He always managed to look better than me, huh? Donut doesn't agree with that though, but that's what a boyfriend is supposed to say, I guess. Do you have a girlfriend or a boyfriend, Tucker?"

Tucker blinked in surprise at Doc's chatter, then shrugged. "Yeah."

Doc gave him a look of utter horror. Tucker raised his eyebrows at Doc's expression. "Who? How serious is it?" Tucker would've laughed, but Doc looked uncharacteristically serious.

Ignoring the first question, Tucker thought of Wash. Of the way he paced when he was nervous and of the way that he talked with his hands. "Pretty serious," Tucker decided. Wash tried to seem nonchalant, but Tucker could feel his smile.

The blood drained from Doc's face, but he quickly stuffed his helmet on his head, as if to hide his face from them. "Oh. Do you, like... Love her?"

Tucker paused and Wash breathed in sharply. Tucker took his time deciding, but he was pretty positive of his answer. "Him. Yeah, I love him."

_"Really?"_

_"Yeah. I love you, asshole."_

Instead of saying anything else, Wash found a memory, one that he had apparently been saving. The first time that he had told David that he loved him and David had agreed. There was a warm feeling in Tucker's heart and a goofy grin on his face.

Doc was silent. Wyoming started making angry motions with his hands, he was obviously upset. Tucker ignored it, Wyoming got frustrated easily and it wasn't too usual to see Doc and Wyoming arguing about something.

The drop ship landed smoothly and 479er kicked them out. As they left, Tucker could see her looking for her magazine in the back.

The planet was empty and nobody was in sight. The grass beneath their feet was dry and brown and the air seemed stiff, even through the armor. It looked like there hadn't been rain since they had last been here. Tucker half-expected a tumbleweed to blow past them. They headed in the direction of the coordinates that The Director had given them.

Doc suddenly pointed at a black square. "Is that it?"

Tucker looked where Doc was pointing. He squinted at the box, then nodded. "Yeah, I think so. We're nearby."

They approached the package to make sure they were right. Doc picked it up with ease, it didn't look heavy. He bounced on the balls of his feet a couple of times and glanced around.

"Alright, I'll radio Niner so she can start up the ship and we can go back to the Mother. That didn't take long at all." Tucker grinned at Doc. There was no indication of Doc returning the smile. Wyoming walked over to Wash and stared at him.

Doc slowly shook his head. "We won't be going back to the Mother of Invention. I'm sorry."

The grin fell from Tucker's face. Wash sent him a quick warning to be ready for something to happen. Tucker tilted his head to the side at stared at Doc, who tucked the package under his arm. "What the fuck does that mean, Doc?"

"It means that you'll be dead and, hopefully, I'll be long gone." Doc raised the pistol that Tucker hadn't realized that he was holding. Tucker had time to curse and to dive away from Doc. He hit the ground a second after the bullet had hit him in the chest. He had forgotten about Doc's temporal distortion unit.

Wash started to freak out immediately. _"Holy shit, what do I do? I can't do anything! Tucker! Stay awake and don't move!"_

As Tucker lay bleeding, Doc stood over him. "I'm actually really sorry about this, believe me. This is my only way out, you know what happened to Georgia when he rebelled."

Tucker coughed weakly. "No, I don't."

There was the sound of footsteps by Tucker's head. "Well, it was messy. Can you do me a favor, Tucker?"

"Go fuck yourself, Frank, you sick son of a bitch."

Doc ignore his comment. "Tell Donut that I'm sorry. I love him as much as you love your boyfriend, probably more. I didn't want to leave him, but he wouldn't see it my way. I never got to tell him goodbye."

Wash stopped freaking out and moaned in pain. _"Don't say goodbye. I hate goodbyes."_

Tucker could see red, but he couldn't move. The pain was like fire and he could feel himself getting weaker as the blood drained out of his body. Luckily, Doc had missed his heart. Tucker didn't know how long he could hold on.

Doc turned to leave, but paused. "Oh, and one more thing, Lavernius. Memory is the key." Then, he walked away, leaving Tucker bleeding onto the brown grass.


End file.
